CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Ohio's senators on Monday announced a 28-member commission that will make recommendations on who should fill two open seats on the state's federal bench in the state's northern and southern districts.

The bipartisan commission contains many familiar names in state politics, attorneys from some of the states biggest law firms and representatives of some of the state's largest companies.

The panel will make recommendations to U.S. Sens. Rob Portman and Sherrod Brown, who will then make a recommendation to President Donald Trump on who he should nominate.

Judicial nominees for the lifetime appointment must be confirmed by the Senate.

The panel will make recommendations to fill the seat vacated by Cleveland federal Judge Donald Nugent, who assumed senior status in January. They are also looking to fill a seat in Columbus vacated by Judge Gregory Frost who retired last year.

Trump, like all presidents before him, has the opportunity to transform the federal courts, both here and nationally. Federal judges often work hard to maintain their judicial independence, but the federal courts have been ground zero for partisan issues such as abortion and voting rights.

Trump has been slow to make nominations to the federal bench since he was sworn in on Jan. 20, only filling a spot on the Supreme Court and one on the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati. Several nominees are awaiting Senate hearings.